Doesn’t matter if it is data -base, -warehouse, or -lake, size of the data matters only if the data can be used in a meaningful way. Otherwise it is just a maintenance headache. Ask Marriott whose database was recently hacked.

And meaningful uses of data do exist. The most intriguing application, to me, of the big data is the “predictive analytics.” Or as Eric Siegel in his Youtube video below calls it, “what is likely to happen?” Who would not want to have such a crystal ball?

But unlike forecasting, which is an aggregate overall estimate, predictive analytic works on the treatment of individuals, by offering likely options to persuade the individual to act. Also known as persuasive modeling.

In other words, predictive analytic can’t predict what will happen naturally. Like when the next earthquake will hit. But it can predict (with probability better than guessing) how each potential buyer will react to a set of given stimuli.

Therefore, predictive analytics is a tool that can help organizations to target the intended audiences with cost effective strategies through carefully analyzed buyer behavior and discriminated suggestions. And hopefully, influence them.